Roll stand construction for belt conveyors



Nov. 16, 1965 W. E. HERRMANN 3,217,362

ROLL STAND CONSTRUCTION FOR BELT CONVEYORS Filed July 25, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 16, 1965 w. E. HERRMANN 3,217,862

ROLL STAND CONSTRUCTION FOR BELT CONVEYORS Filed July 25, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I I I I I I I l I I I I I I I I I I I I l I I I l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I INVENTOR.

W/AA/AM HERRMA/VN Nov. 16, 1965 w. E. HERRMANN ROLL STAND CONSTRUCTION FOR BELT CONVEYORS Filed July 25, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 III/y INVENTOR. WILL/19M IVAFA'MQMAN/V United States Patent 3,217,862 ROLL STAND CONSTRUCTION FOR BELT CONVEYORS William E. Herrmann, Ypsilanti, Mich, assignor to Jervis B. Webb Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed July 25, 1962, Ser. No. 212,351 4 Claims. (Cl. 198192) This invention relates to an improved construction for a belt conveyor roll stand, particularly a roll stand of the troughing type in which the rolls at each end of the stand are mounted with their axes in upwardly inclined relation to a center roll.

The overall object of the invention is to provide a roll stand, consisting of the combination of a support and a roll assembly, which offers a very simplified and elfective construction for the roll assembly, and which provides means whereby the roll assembly can be mounted on the support or removed from the support without tools. This is a great advantage, considering the fact that with roll stands of conventional construction now in use, the expense of removing and replacing idler rolls can easily exceed the cost thereof.

A roll stand constructed in accordance with the invention consists of a pair of supporting members, a roll assembly including a sub-frame, and means for detachably connecting the sub-frame to the supporting members consisting of surfaces provided on the sub-frame and supporting members and disposed transversely and longitudinally of the roll stand, these surfaces being mutually engageable solely by relative movement between the roll assembly and supporting frame.

Preferred features include the provision of a roll assembly in which the sub-frame is composed simply of a pair of parallel bars interconnected by a plurality of roll mounting brackets. Each bracket is constructed so as to serve as the common support for adjacent ends of a pair of rolls, or as a common mounting for a single roll and a grease fitting.

The inter-engaging surfaces between the supporting members and roll assembly sub-frame are preferably tapered in directions both longitudinally and transversely of the roll stand so that the roll assembly will be properly centered and held on the supporting members when these surfaces are placed in engagement.

In the preferred construction to be disclosed the same basic roll assembly can be employed with roll stand. supporting members either in the form of a pair of parallel cables, or in the form of an individual supporting frame for each stand. Where the roll assembly is suspended between cables, a mounting bracket is attached to each end of the roll assembly sub-frame and held in position thereon at least in part by the same notched surfaces employed to secure the roll assembly between members of a supporting frame.

Other preferred features and advantages will be brought out in the following description of the presently preferred representative embodiments of the invention disclosed in the accompanying drawings which consist of the following views:

FIGURE 1, a side elevation of a roll stand;

FIGURE 2, an enlarged end elevation taken as indicated by the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3, an enlarged fragmentary side elevation with portions thereof being shown in section;

FIGURE 4, a fragmentary side elevation of one end of a roll assembly equipped with a mounting bracket for securing the roll assembly to a supporting cable;

FIGURE 5, an end elevation taken as indicated by the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIGURE 6, a fragmentary sectional elevation taken as indicated by the line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

The construction shown in FIGS. 1-3 includes two main components, a supporting frame 10 and a roll assembly 12 which includes three idler rolls 13, 14 and 15 mounted in conventional relation for a troughing type idler stand-the axis of each of the outboard rolls I3 and 15 being upwardly inclined relative to the axis of the generally horizontal center roll 14.

Only the upper portion of the supporting frame 10 is shown, it being understood that this portion would be mounted upon a suitable stand to place the rolls at the desired operating level. The illustrated portion of the supporting frame includes a transverse angle-section member 18, a pair of upright end members 20 and 21 and'suitable braces 22 all connected together to form a rigid structure. End members 20 and 21 have horizontal lower flanges 23 and 24 for securing the sub-frame portion 10 to the stand mentioned above.

The roll assembly 12 includes a sub-frame on which the rolls 13, 14 and 15 are mounted and which consists simply in a pair of frame bars 26 and 27 extending longitudinally of the roll axes and interconnected in spaced downwardly converging relation by means of a plurality of identical roll mounting brackets 28 having terminal flanges 29 abutting and connected to the frame bars 26 and 27 by bolts 30.

As best shown in FIG. 3, each of the mounting brackets 28 is adapted to provide a common support for the adjacent ends of a pair of rolls, the mounting bracket having a pair of end-to-end sockets 31 and 32 formed thereinin angular axial relation.

Each of the rolls 13, 14 and 15 is similar in construction, including an outer cylindrical shell 34, a pair of end members 35 each having an annular bearing receiving socket 36 terminating in an inwardly directed portion 37 which is engaged by the flared end 38 of a grease sleeve 40. A tubular axle 42 extends through the sleeve 40, clearance being provided between the outside diameter of the axle 42 and inside diameter of the sleeve 40 to form a lubricant reservoir. The roll is mounted on the axle 42 by a bearing assembly adjacent each end of the latter, each bearing assembly including a bearing whose inner race 44 is mounted on the axle and whose outer race 45 engages the cylindrical socket 36 in the roll end member 35, a suitable bearing seal 46, and a bearing adjusting collar 48 which is threaded on the axle 42.

The adjusting collar 48 slidably fits within one of the sockets 31 or 32 of a mounting bracket 28 to a limit defined by a shoulder 49 on the collar, and one of a pair of set screws 50 mounted in a boss 51 at the side of the bracket can be screwed into engagement with the collar 48 thus securing the roll to the mounting bracket and at the same time locking the collar in proper position on the axle 42.

At each end of the roll assembly where only one roll is supported by a mounting bracket 28, a grease fitting 54 is slipped within the mounting bracket socket 32 and held in position by the other set screw 50. Here the angular axial relation of the mounting bracket socket 32 to mounting bracket socket 31 results in placing the grease fitting in a convenient attitude for ready access thereto. Grease supplied to the roll assembly through the fittings 54 is forced through the center 56 (FIG. 2) of the roll axle, through a hole 58 formed therein inboard of each bearing assembly, into the grease reservoir between the axle and grease tube 40 and to the bearing assemblies. The entire roll assembly can thus be lubricated from either or both of the ends thereof.

The structure formed by the combination of rolls, mounting brackets and frame bars 26 and 27 is a unitary assembly, and means are provided for detachably securing this roll assembly to the supporting frame comprising inter-engaging surfaces on the roll assembly and supporting frame which are disposed both longitudinally and transversely with respect to the roll stand and which when placed in engagement locate and retain the roll assembly in proper position on the supporting frame. These interengaging surfaces are best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and include a pair of notches 60 and 61 formed in the corners of the upper portion 62 of the frame end members and 21, and a notch 64 formed in the lower edge of each of the frame bars 26 and 27 adjacent each end thereof. The upwardly facing notches and 61 formed in the supporting frame each include a pair of inwardly tapered surfaces 66 and 67 and an abutment surface 68 which is disposed so as to extend normal to the frame bar engaged thereby. Each of the downwardly facing notches 64 in the frame bars include inwardly tapered surfaces 70 and 72, the surface 70 extending parallel to the upper portion 62 of a frame end member. Portion 62 of the frame end members 20 and 21 is shaped so as to extend substantially normal to the frame bars at the point of engagement, or in other words substantially normal to the axis of the roll adjacent this location.

It can thus be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3, that when a roll assembly is moved vertically relative to the supporting frame to place the various notches into engagement, the combination of the longitudinally extending surfaces of notches 60 and 61 and the transversely extending surfaces of notches 64, together with the tapered relation of the surfaces on all of these notches, will positively locate the roll assembly on the supporting frame in proper centered relationship relative thereto and positively retain the roll assembly against relative movement in directions longitudinally and transversely of the roll axes. Any relative vertical movement will be resisted by the weight of the roll assembly together with the weight of the belt and any load supported thereby.

In the constructions shown in FIGS. 4-6, the same basic roll assembly construction is suspended between a pair of supporting members each consisting of a flexible cable 74. An adapter mounting bracket is secured to each end of the roll assembly frame bars. This bracket 75 is generally U-shaped in end elevation as shown in FIG. 5, having angularly related upstanding portions 76 and 77 conforming to the angle of convergence between the frame bars 26 and 27, and a transverse base portion 78. A pair of slots 79 and 80 (FIG. 6) are formed in the sides of the base portion 78 adjacent each of the upstanding portions 76 and 77, these slots each being adapted to receive the tang portion 82 of one of the frame bars, which extends between the end of the frame bar and the notch 64. The bracket 75 is further secured between the frame bars 26 and 27 by bolts 84 which also engage the roll mounting bracket 28.

Means are also provided in this construction for detachably connecting the roll assembly frame to the supporting members or cables 74. This means includes a slot cut through the side and base portions of the bracket to provide a pair of notches 86 for engaging the cable 74. A manually movable element 88 is pivotally connected at 89 to the base portion 78 of the bracket 75, this element including a handle portion 90 and a cable engaging tongue 91 which can be positioned under the cable 74 to deform it intermediate the notches 86 in the bracket side portions 76 and 77 and thus provide inter-engaging surfaces between the supporting cable and roll assembly which are disposed transversely of the roll stand.

With either construction, no tools are required to mount a roll assembly on the supporting members or to remove a roll assembly therefrom. The labor and hence the cost of erecting and maintaining the roll stands of the invention is greatly reduced. If a roll assembly becomes defective, it can readily be removed and replaced by another assembly in proper working order.

While preferred embodiments have been described above in detail, it will be understood that numerous modifications might be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A belt conveyor roll stand comprising:

a pair of supporting members spaced transversely of the direction of belt travel,

a roll assembly consisting of a pair of flat sheet metal frame bars, bracket means rigidly interconnecting said frame bars in spaced downwardly converging relation and at least one roll supported by said bracket means for rotation on an axis intermediate the frame bars;

means for detachably connecting said roll assembly to said supporting members including a notch formed in the lower edge of each frame bar adjacent each end thereof thereby providing a pair of notches in the frame bars at each end of the roll assembly;

and means on the upper portion of each of said supporting members for engagement by one pair of notches on the roll assembly frame bars to locate and retain the roll assembly on the supporting members.

2. A belt conveyor roll stand as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means on the upper portion of each of said supporting members comprises a pair of upwardly facing notches formed in each supporting member, each upwardly facing notch having a bottom surface and side Walls converging inwardly towards said bottom surface.

3. A belt conveyor roll stand as claimed in claim 1 wherein a plurality of rolls are supported by said bracket means including a center roll and a pair of outboard rolls, said frame bars each having a central portion and end portions each extending in upwardly inclined relation to said central portion to define a corresponding axial angular relation between said center and outboard rolls, and the said upper portion of each supporting member extending essentially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the outboard roll adjacent thereto.

4. A belt conveyor roll stand as claimed in claim 3 wherein each notch in the frame bars extends essentially perpendicular to the adjacent outboard roll axis and is provided with side walls which converge inwardly of the edge of the frame bar in which the notch is formed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,708,885 4/1929 Hopkinson 198-192 X 2,094,748 10/1937 Phillips et a1 198-192 2,263,506 11/1941 Lane 198-191 X 2,592,831 4/1952 Spurgeon et al. 198-192 2,940,600 6/1960 La Bonia et al. 248-235 3,039,727 6/1962 Engel et al. 211-134 X 3,055,487 9/1962 Roley 198-192 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Examiner. 

1. A BELT CONVEYOR ROLL STAND COMPRISING: A PAIR OF SUPPORTING MEMBERS SPACED TRANSVERSELY OF THE DIRECTION OF BELT TRAVEL, A ROLL ASSEMBLY CONSISTING OF PAIR OF FLAT SHEET METAL FRAME BARS, BRACKET MEANS RIGIDLY INTERCONNECTING SAID FRAME BARS IN SPACED DOWNWARDLY CONVERGING RELATION AND AT LEAST ONE ROLL SUPPORTED BY SAID BRACKET MEANS FOR ROTATION ON AN AXIS INTERMEDIATE THE FRAME BARS; MEANS FOR DETECHABLY CONNECTING SAID ROLL ASSEMBLY TO SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS INCLUDING A NOTCH FORMED IN THE LOWER EDGE OF EACH FRAME BAR ADJACENT EACH END THEREOF THEREBY PROVIDING A PAIR OF NOTCHES IN THE FRAME BARS AT EACH END OF THE ROLL ASSEMBLY; AND MEANS ON THE UPPER PORTION OF EACH OF SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS FOR ENGAGEMENT BY ONE PAIR OF NOTCHES ON THE ROLL ASSEMBLY FRAME BARS TO LOCATE AND RETAIN THE ROLL ASSEMBLY ON THE SUPPORTING MEMBERS. 